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Disclaimer: Labyrinth and all its characters belong to Jim Henson and company. I am making no profit from this story. Storyline and any original characters belong to me.

Summary: Our story begins ten years after Sarah defeated the Labyrinth and its king. She had thought she came through the experience unchanged. She was wrong….

Rating: PG-13

Becoming

Unwelcome changes

Never static

Always growing

Ever leaving

Who I once was

Behind

Forever

When will it end?

When will I stop…

Becoming?

Sarah Williams gradually became aware that she was confined in a cramped space and that she was in immense pain. Her head throbbed mercilessly and her body seemed to be pinned down.

Where am I?

Opening her eyes, she saw only darkness, but knew that eventually her vision would adjust. She stayed still, trying not to panic. It was eerily quiet; she could hear nothing at all.

Have I died?

It was as though time and motion had ceased entirely, leaving her in some kind of chasm between life and death. Death. She remembered being afraid – no, terrified – that she was going to die.

I remember screaming…

In fragments, like a video-taped movie on fast-forward, she saw the impossibly huge semi-truck heading straight toward her, its headlights blinding. It should have slammed right into her; she had been close enough to read the single word Peterbilt on the enormous bug-covered grill of the truck, illuminated by her car’s headlights.

‘No! Don’t let it hit me!’

There had been no impact. She had wished to avoid the collision, and she must have done so, or else she would not be musing about it right now. Surely she would have been crushed upon contact, her little Honda crumpled like a discarded, empty soda can.

I should be dead. Splattered on the highway like a defenseless animal.

As her eyes became accustomed to the inky darkness of the night, her disorientation faded somewhat and she could see that she was still inside her car. Her seat had lurched forward and she was pinned between it and the steering wheel. Gingerly, she reached down with her right hand and found the release bar in front of the seat and eased herself back. There was no resistance and she breathed a sigh of relief.

There’s no way I could have survived that unless…

Opening her car door, she stepped out of the Honda and stood carefully, alert to anything that might be broken or bruised. Her left shoulder was very sore and her head still hurt, but other than that she was fine now that she was free of the vehicle. Clearly, she had driven off the road and into a ditch, but the car didn’t seem to be damaged at all.

It had happened again.

No cars passed on the road, which was about twenty yards from where Sarah’s vehicle had ended up. She would either have to walk or attempt to start her car. She walked around, checking to ensure that none of her tires were blown.

Why does the Goblin King care whether I live or die?

Easing back behind the wheel, she shakily turned the key in the ignition and was pleased when the engine roared to life. It was a bit difficult getting back to the highway, but she did it without too much trouble. Soon she was back on track, on her way home.

Home… Now there’s a laugh.

Sarah sat at her kitchen table, looking out over the lake. She had chosen this location - this small, virtually unknown town - because of its perfect anonymity. The people here had been suspicious of her at first, but she had soon quietly convinced them that she was no threat to their peaceful lives. It hadn’t taken long for them to realize that Sarah wanted as little to do with them as they wanted to do with her.

She shopped at times when hardly anyone else did. She rarely even left her property unless it was absolutely necessary. Once a month, she drove to the large city nearly a hundred miles away to stock up on supplies she couldn’t get at the small town market.

Sarah kept to herself and people assumed she was an eccentric writer or artist, or perhaps some kind of phobia-laden recluse. She spoke as little as possible and always covered herself up completely, her long, wavy russet-brown hair obscuring much of her face. She often wore a hat or scarf.

Playing with her bowl of raisin bran, which had gone soggy far too fast, she reflected on the past fifteen years of her life. Last night’s miracle was just another mystery in a long line of odd happenings in her life since besting the labyrinth. If she had just gone back to a normal life, she would have, in time, begun to think it had all been a dream. But there was far too much evidence to the contrary.

The first mysterious occurrence was about a week after Sarah had come home. She had been doing some laundry for Karen, who had taken Toby to the pediatrician. The washing machine had gotten stuck. One of Toby’s blankets had come unraveled and was wound tightly around the neck of the machine. Sarah had worked on it a long time, regretfully taking scissors and cutting away at the threads, but it was no use.

In frustration, she had slammed her fist on the machine and shouted, “Just work again, will you?” To her amazement, the washing machine had started up again and completed its cycle. When it finished, she pulled out a perfectly knitted blanket, no longer in tatters and no longer wound around the spinning mechanism. Frowning, she had examined the blanket inch by inch, but it was as though it was brand new.

Another incident, soon after that, happened the morning of a huge math exam at school. Sarah had awoken feeling miserably sick. She had a sore throat a terrible cough. Her head ached and she could tell she had a fever. In the bathroom, she had glanced into the mirror and seen her eyes red-rimmed, her skin pallid.

“Oh, no,” she had lamented. “Oh, please… I can’t be sick today!”

She had leaned down and rinsed her face with bracing cold water. Grabbing a towel, she dried off and looked back into the mirror. Her color had returned and her eyes looked perfectly healthy and normal. Swallowing, she noted that her throat was no longer painful. Placing a hand to her face, she no longer felt feverish.

“What in the world…?”

Sarah was baffled. She had gone to school, taken the test, and felt great all day. She never came down with what had promised to be a horrific cold.

There were other things, as well. Payphones that ate her coins suddenly spit them up when she smacked the phone or made a comment. Things she wanted to buy on sale would suddenly appear on the rack, in her size, in the preferred color. Positive she would be late for class, she would miraculously arrive five minutes early.

Since returning from the labyrinth, Sarah had never once been ill longer than the time it took to feel rotten and wish it away. Nothing bad ever happened to her; she was always able to will things to go her way. She had learned that she had to be very careful in what she said and eventually, even in what she thought.

One evening, she had finally gathered enough courage to call out to Jareth, wanting to ask him why he was causing her life to go so smoothly, for whom else could be responsible? But he hadn’t responded, nor had he appeared at any time since when she would call on him.

Then, just about three years after her return, she had woken up one morning to find that her skin was fairly glowing with health. Her eyes were brighter and slightly larger, their shape more defined. Her cheekbones were higher and more pronounced.

At first, she attributed these changes to maturity, but when she saw that some of her teeth, her ears and her eyebrows were beginning to take on a pointed appearance, she knew it was much more than growing up. Dismayed and alarmed, she started wearing her hair over her ears and rarely smiled.

Her family didn’t like the changes in what they perceived to be her attitude and demeanor. Things became strained with Karen and her father, and once she turned eighteen, they suggested that she find her own place. She had been saving all of her money since her return from the labyrinth – money given to her by her parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, money earned at baby-sitting and dog-walking jobs.

She had planned to go to college, but clearly that was not going to happen. Bitterly disappointed, Sarah had rented a tiny room and private bath from an elderly lady and taken a few night classes at the city college. She took computer and business classes. When a classmate told her about medical transcription and how it could be done from home, she picked up classes on medical terminology, anatomy and basic biology in order to qualify.

And that’s what Sarah did for a living. In her private cabin, hidden away from the world, she transcribed medical notes five days a week, setting her own hours. She received tapes in the mail from several doctors, transcribed them and mailed them back.

It was a perfect occupation for one who did not want to have social contact with the outside world – or rather, one who had been forced into such a life. She had lived this way since she’d turned twenty-one, and now she was nearing thirty.

Sarah Williams was also incredibly lonely. She had given up trying to contact Jareth. She sometimes doubted that he even remembered her now, though she had no other explanation for her continued serendipity. She had foolishly hoped that he had wanted to stick close to her and that was why things seemed to always work out in her favor. She had even talked herself into thinking that he really had been in love with her and that his offer had been genuine.

As she slowly morphed into whatever it was she was becoming – for even now, years later, subtle changes continued to occur, she began to find herself fantasizing about him. She had been far too young to read the hidden undertones of his words at the time he uttered them. She had been so focused on getting Toby back, and everything Jareth said and did seemed like nothing more than a mere distraction, trickery.

Now, she wasn’t so sure. And as her body underwent strange changes, so did her mind and her emotions. There was something binding her to the Goblin King, to the point that she dreamed of him as vividly as if he were there, at her side. She no longer feared him, but longed for him.

Sarah’s longing for him made her despise herself. He didn’t care about her; he had done this to her – set these changes in motion – and then cruelly abandoned her – the ultimate revenge.

He had to have known what would happen to her; he could have at least warned her! But he had sent her back Aboveground and then ignored her every time she called out to him. Moreover, he must have blocked all access to the Underground, for she was never able to reach Hoggle, Sir Didymus, or Ludo, either.

With a sigh, she got up from the table and dumped the remainder of her cereal and milk down the drain, flipping on the disposal. Cleaning and rinsing her bowl and spoon, she set them in the dish drainer to air dry and poured another cup of coffee, adding a small amount of cream and sugar.

Tomorrow was the anniversary of her trip to the Underground. Fifteen years. She was thirty years old and had no family or friends. The move to a nearly deserted area had been necessary, for due to the ongoing metamorphosis taking effect within Sarah, she never knew when she would do something she couldn’t control.

Sometimes now, all she had to do was think of something and it would appear. It had once happened, almost right in front of Karen. Sarah had been craving a candy bar, and one had appeared right in front of her, hovering in the air. Fortunately, Sarah had been able to snatch it before Karen saw it floating there, but she had questioned Sarah endlessly as to where it had come from.

If too many people witnessed strange things occurring around Sarah, she would be locked away to be studied, poked and prodded. They would notice her unearthly appearance, as would anyone looking closely.

Her eyes were an almost iridescent green, glowing when her emotions were running high. Her hair was too thick and luxuriant. If she cut it, it grew back to waist length by morning. Her body was almost unnaturally perfect. She ate everything she wanted and never gained a pound. Her skin was beyond perfect – no blemishes or scars.

What for many would seem a blessing was to Sarah a curse. Anyone who saw her remarked upon her unusual beauty. She had been called unearthly and ethereal by those who only got a glimpse of her. Cuts and bruises she acquired healed almost instantaneously or never appeared at all. Even marks of childhood cuts and scrapes had faded away as though they had never existed. Already, her shoulder was completely normal, after being so painful just last night.

The paint on her car, which had been scratched from brambles and bushes she had driven though, was now perfect. She had vaguely thought about getting it repaired, but because she’d had the thought, it was already done. If she wasn’t so bent on having as normal a life as possible, she wouldn’t even have to go into town for anything. She could, if she chose, simply wish for the supplies she needed and they would appear. But she had money; she might as well use it to live honestly and buy what she needed.

No, there was no way that Sarah Williams could ever live among people again. Not that she minded all that much. She no longer craved human companionship because she was no longer human herself. But she did crave Jareth’s companionship. She knew that she was in love with him. Somehow, when she was there in the Underground, he had gotten under her skin so deeply that she felt his absence as a deep and abiding, aching void.

Sarah Williams was alone and utterly lonely.

Sarah was surprised to feel someone from the underground in he house.her hopes were high for wishing it was Jareth,but somehow she had a feeling that it wasnt.She stood up,after laying on her bed and walked into the kitchen.She was going to pour a cup of coffee and spotted something on her floor.knowing that not everything is as it seems,she bent down and picked up the furry little creature.it was obviously from the underground."well,what are you in my house for,huh?"she asked,smiling.

"ok.lil one.who is your master?"she asked,hoping he would reply Jareth.

"hmm...you are from the underground,yes?"she asked Teenie.that sounds like Jareth.she thought to herself,smiling.

Sarah decided to call Jareth again."jareth,if you can hear me,i have a pet of yours."she called out to him.

::Teenie wiggles so that instead of dangling by the scruff of her outfit, she is grasping the hand which held her::trying to be brave she forces herself to speak::

it's just HE'LL be so mad at me for blabbing - and no telling what'll happen....

::still she was curious as to what that may be - for better or worse::

Teenie nods but still is not convinced 100%. She squints when discovering the base stairs has led to the northwestern bottom of the castle. Why would the Goblin King have sent them there??

She looks to Sarah.

Do you know this place?

Teenie herself did.

Somewhat.

But now that Teenie was back on hometurf it might be better to shut up of any vital information...